Dual doubles duties too much for Terry to handle

Making a choice: Terry Hee would rather just play mixed doubles with his wife Jessica.

DOING double duty has become too much of a stretch for Singaporean Terry Hee Yong Kai.

He has decided to stop playing competitively in the men’s doubles to focus on the mixed instead of juggling both.

Terry is playing in the mixed doubles with his wife Jessica Tan Wei Han and they are currently ranked world No. 13 while his partnership with Loh Kean Hean has reached the 22nd spot.

Terry, however, said he would resume his combination with Kean Hean if the Singapore team needed him to.

“The calendar is too packed and hectic (with too many tournaments), so I think it’s better for me to focus on one event,’’ he said.

“Right now, I’m focused on the mixed doubles as I kind of stopped competing in the men’s doubles for individual events.

“But whenever the team need me for the team event, I’ll be ready.”

Terry-Jessica started their campaign with a 21-16, 21-10 win over world No. 24 Jones Ralfy-Linda Elfer of Germany in the first round.

They will take on Thailand’s world No. 3 Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Tarrattanachai in the second round today for a spot in the quarter-finals.

It will be an uphill battle for the Singaporean pair as they don’t have a good record against the Thais.

Terry-Jessica lost to Dechapol-Sapsiree in straight sets in the Thailand Masters in 2017 and the Japan Open last year.

However, Jessica is optimistic that they have a fair chance of winning.

“Tomorrow’s (today’s) match will definitely be a tough match because they’re the second seeds,’’ she said.

“But we will definitely try our best because in this arena, the draught is so strong and everything is so volatile.

“We believe it’s anybody’s game, it’s up to who has the clearer mindset and can adapt better.”